


can i be basic (with you)?

by marimeetsmischief



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Little bit of angst, Marichat, Mostly MariChat, WHOOPS self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-18
Updated: 2020-02-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22790788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marimeetsmischief/pseuds/marimeetsmischief
Summary: so are you feeling stupid, too?i hope i'm not the only fool.don't wanna run away from you.inspired by the song "basic" by sigrid <3
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 14
Kudos: 213





	can i be basic (with you)?

Marinette?" 

The girl finally took notice and looked at him, a spaced out expression slowly draining off of her fave and giving way to a sheepish smile. 

"Oh, sorry Chat Noir, what were you saying?"

He laughed softly, shaking his head at her. "That's the fourth time tonight, you know," he teased, nudging her with his elbow gently. 

She rolled her eyes, shoving him playfully in return. This was a comfortable habit by now. Once or twice a week, he would drop in on her after patrols, and she just seemed to be full of never-ending acceptance of him. Sometimes she would open the skylight before he could even knock, already climbing out with drinks or snacks for them to share. All it ever did was reaffirm for him that Marinette was the most unconditionally kind person he had ever met. It was so easy to look at her, practically glowing under the moonlight, so full of softness and life, so easy that sometimes he forgot about everything else. 

"Who's the one spacing out now, huh?" She said, waving her hand in front of his eyes. He jumped back a little, turning red and then shaking his head. 

His hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing at it anxiously as he tried to offer her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Purrincess," he joked, always unable to resist the punny nickname when it came to her. 

She groaned, smacking her palm into her face at the nickname. At first, she had ignored it, and even seemed a little embarrassed by it, but that was probably because he had gone just a little overboard on the charm when she had helped him with the Evillustrator. Now that they considered each other friends for real though, she didn't hide her mix of amused annoyance, something that reminding him so much of his favorite spotted heroine. 

"When are you gonna let that awful nickname go?" she asked with an exasperated sigh, even as the corners of her lips crept up in a smile. 

He grinned in response, hopping up from his seated position on the railing and standing on it instead. He dipped into a low bow, holding his hand out in a dramatic flair of princely behavior. "You have to admit that it's kind of fitting, Princess. A room at the top of the tower, a balcony that looks over the city, and the beautiful princess waiting for her prince," he added with a wink, still grinning as he walked along the railing toward her. 

"Oh, you think I'm beautiful, huh?"

His foot slipped as he realized exactly what he had said, and he tumbled off the railing, thankfully only onto the balcony instead of down onto the street. 

"Chat!" She yelped, jumping straight up as he fell and darting over to him. "OhmygodImsosorry, are you okay?!" 

Rolling over onto his back, he looked up at her. She had kneeled down behind his head and now she was leaned over him, staring at him with those brilliant blue eyes of hers. 

"You really are beautiful, Marinette," he said softly, locking his eyes onto hers with so much certainty in his look. Her eyes slowly widened and her lips parted, and then he realized that he had done it again. Both of their faces turned red and he scrambled to sit up quickly, only to knock his forehead into hers with a solid thud. 

She leaned back immediately, holding her hand to her forehead. "Ouch, Chat, sheesh. What are you trying to do, give me amnesia?"

"Uh, purrhaps?" he mumbled, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck again. "Sorry, Mari, for your head, and the uh... you know." 

Laughing, she shrugged it off, even though her very red face made it clear that she was more than a little embarrassed. "Isn't Ladybug usually the one who's at the receiving end of your compliments?" she asked, trying to brush past the obvious awkwardness. 

She was right, of course. It was normally his lady that occupied his thoughts, because she had always been extraordinary. Still, he shrugged and sighed, leaning back on his arms to look up at the sky. "My Lady is amazing. That's always been true, and it always will be. Things are just... more complicated lately."

"Complicated?" she said quietly. He heard her moving around, and then she was sitting next to him with a curious expression. 

"Ah. Sorry, I don't know." He shook his head, sitting straight up again, glancing over at her. He knew exactly what his complication was, but he wasn't sure he could really bring himself to say it either. 

She met his glance, offering a kind smile that made his heartbeat jump. "You can talk to me, you know," she murmured softly, a hint of an emotion he couldn't place on her face. She seemed almost... conflicted?

"I love Ladybug. I've always made that clear," he started explain. After another glance at her made him nervous, he leaned back to lie down on the balcony floor, staring up at the sky, which somehow didn't help as much as he thought it would because all he could think was that her eyes sparkled more than the sky ever could. 

"Yeah..." she finally mumbled in response, which shook him out of his quickly spiraling thoughts. 

"I, um, I might be starting to think I'm in love with... someone else, too," he admitted finally, chickening out of the confession at the last second. "I've always thought that Ladybug was 'it' for me. She's this brilliant beacon of hope and goodness, but sometimes she really does feel like an actual beacon. Like I can see her light, and it's close, but it's just out of reach, and if I try too hard, I'll get smashed on the rocks. I guess that being in love like that is starting to feel... complicated." 

He paused, closing his eyes as he started to picture his Lady in his mind. She was as beautiful as ever, and she still made his heart go crazy but... there was hesitance now, and he knew that the oddly silent girl next to him was the cause. 

"This other girl, even though she's made my feelings complicated, she somehow manages to make things so simple all at once. If Ladybug is the sun, then she's like the moon. She's soft, and sometimes sad, and even if she reminds me of Ladybug in some ways, she's still entirely herself in everything she does." Realizing that he had been rambling like a fool, he cleared his throat awkwardly, trying to shrug it off. "Wow, sorry, I don't know where that came from!" 

Marinette shifted slightly and looked at him, starting to stand up before pausing to speak. "It sounds like you really care about them both, Chat," she offered quietly, then stood up the rest of the way. He turned his head to watch her walk to the railing, leaning onto it so heavily that it made his heart hurt for some reason. She just seemed so tired. "I know how you feel," she mumbled so softly that he probably wouldn't have heard it without his cat hearing. 

"What do you mean?" he asked in response, and she jumped slightly, almost like she had forgotten he was there. 

"Oh. Well, I've already told you about the boy I've been crushing on for a while now but there's sort of someone else creeping into my heart too? So, I guess I just understand what you're feeling." 

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. He knew she liked someone, even if he wasn't sure who it was. He had managed to convince himself that maybe he had more of a chance with her than Ladybug though, but if she liked two people? That made him a lot less sure. Trying to process this, he sat in silence and she didn't appear to want to interrupt it either. Both of them were stuck in thought, and finally he just sighed, clambering to his feet. 

"Hey, Marinette?" He called softly, standing just behind her with his hand rubbing the back of his neck again. She turned around quickly, trying to get rid of the sad look on her face before she faced him, though he could still see it in her eyes. 

"What is it Chat?" she asked, stepping away from the railing and towards him. 

He held out a hand, and after a moment of hesitation, she put her hand in his. Using it as a tether, he gently pulled her forward and then grabbed her other hand too, holding them both in his own. He looked down at her hands, turning her palms up and tracing the lines with his thumbs. 

"Chat?" she asked again, a little quieter this time. 

"I don't want to be complicated anymore, Marinette." He paused, taking a deep breath and flicking his gaze up to her eyes before bring it back down again. He wouldn't be able to say what he wanted to if he was looking into those, that was for sure. "I... It's you, Marinette. I think that, well, no, I know that I'm falling for you."

His heart almost stopped at the soft way her breath hitched and she froze stone still. Before she could question him or try to speak, he hurried to explain. 

"At first I just wanted to come here because you were just so... confusing to me. I know I shouldn't say this, but I know you as my civilian self."

"Chat! You can't-"

He nodded, finally looking up at her. "I know. It's just hard. Having the mask just makes things so complicated!" He squeezed her hands, trying to bring himself back down to a more calm state. "And I hate things being complicated. My life, all of it, has always been complicated enough. I don't regret accepting the miraculous, but sometimes I just wish that things were easier, so please just hear me out on this, okay?" 

She looked skeptical at first, and hesitant to let him do something they both knew had risks. Still, he mustered up the most heartfelt pleading look he could, and she relented with a sigh. "Alright."

"You... you act so different, around civilian me? I know I can't tell you a lot of details or how close we are, even, but it's just always been a mystery to me." Pausing, he took another deep breath and tried to figure out what to say without overwhelming her. "Marinette, you're kind of the most amazing person I know." 

"That! Well, that can't be true, I mean.. Ladybug, right?!" she sputtered, starting to pull away from him slightly as her face flushed red. 

"It's not the same. Ladybug is... she's a hero. People just kind of expect kindness from her, and yeah, maybe it's not required, but she just sees it as part of the role. But you? You're just nice to everyone, because you want to be! It's like you were literally made of kindness. Even with me..." He looked up at her, letting go of her hands finally. She was doing her best to avoid looking at him, and he gently tilted her face back towards him. "You've been so kind to me. Both sides of me, even when you barely knew me and had no reason to be. With the life I live, you, Princess, are one of the only people who truly makes me feel real." 

She sniffled softly, and he could see tears starting to form in her eyes, something that made his heart drop. "I... I don't know what to say to that, Chat." 

"You don't have to say anything, really, I just needed to un-complicate things, a little." He smiled sadly, moving back to give her some space again. He watched her reach up to wipe her eyes and sighed, frustrated with himself and the circumstances. 

Seeing her tears start to spill over, he sighed again. Before he could talk himself out of it, he pulled her into his arms and wrapped around her tightly. "I hate that I caused this. I'm sorry, Princess." 

"It's not your fault, silly cat," she mumbled softly, starting to relax in his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder, her arms twined around his torso. He couldn't help but be a little pleased that she still wanted to be around him, and pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. She sighed at that, squeezing him a little tighter. "It's just that things are still so complicated. Gosh, I hate that word."

"Well, maybe I can make things less complicated," he said thoughtfully. It was something he never thought he would consider, but now that he had, the thought was implanted in his mind. "I don't want things to be complicated or difficult for either of us. I'm okay with going in blind if it means I'll crash into you. You're the most trustworthy person I know, Marinette." 

"What are you talking about?" she asked, pulling back slightly to give him a puzzled look. 

He sighed, giving her a lopsided grin that didn't match the worry in his eyes. "Please don't be mad at me," he said, barely pausing before rushing into the next phrase. "Plagg, claws in." 

"Chat, wait!" she squeaked out, but it was too late. There was a blinding flash of green light and she slammed her eyes shut, and then slapped her hand over them for good measure. 

"Marinette, please," he said softly, reaching for her hands. He gently tugged the first one away, bringing it up to kiss her palm. "I need you to see me, all of me." 

He could see that she was shaking, and probably angry with him, if her silence was any indication. 

"I know that you're in love with two probably great guys. I know that I probably don't measure up to them either. And... if you really don't feel comfortable with this, I can transform again," he said, looking over his shoulder for his kwami, who he spotted lurking near a potted plant. The tiny cat god had no sarcastic comments, which was a shock, instead just nodding at him. "I used to think Ladybug would be the first one to know. Maybe she still should be, but I just know that you kind of mean everything to me, and I can't hide from you anymore." 

When he had finished speaking, he let go of her hands, stepping back out of her space. She didn't move to cover her eyes with her hands, which was a relief, but she also wasn't opening her eyes either. She seemed like a statue, completely frozen in thought. He tried to wait it out, but after a few minutes, it seemed clear that she wasn't okay with this. 

"I'm sorry, Marinette. I'll go, okay? Plagg-"

"W-wait!" she stammered out, reaching one hand out for him. He quickly wrapped both of his around it and squeezed hers reassuringly, trying to offer her any kind of comfort he could. 

"It's okay. You don't have to force this," he said, giving her hand another soft squeeze. 

"No, no. I... you're right. I don't want things to be complicated anymore." She took a deep breath, bringing her other hand up to squeeze his in return. After what felt like forever, her face un-scrunched itself and her eyes fluttered open. 

At first, she didn't react at all. The world was perfectly still, and he couldn't really even see anything but her. Then, the realization started to kick in, and her eyes widened. From there, he watched her expression shift to something softer, and then there was embarrassment, some sadness, more shock, and every other possible emotion. Finally, she settled on a small smile and teary eyes, squeezing his hands. 

"Adrien. It's you." she said, barely about a whisper. The tension seemed to have slipped off of her shoulders with those words, and she looked more lovely than anything he had ever seen. 

"Yeah... Is that okay?" he finally managed to ask, letting go of her hands to rub his neck for the millionth time that night. She sure managed to make him uncertain sometimes, that was clear. 

Instead of speaking, she just rolled her eyes and before he knew what was happening, she had crashed into him. She wrapped her arms around him, slightly on the tips of her toes to lean into him more. He felt himself relax all at once and hurried to return the embrace, practically lifting her up and spinning her around in his excitement. 

"Of course it's okay, silly cat," she mumbled softly into his shoulder. "It's better than okay," actually," she added as an afterthought, and he looked down at her questioningly. 

"Better than okay?" 

She froze, leaning back to give him a sheepish and embarrassed smile. "Yeah, uh. The two guys that I have... feelings for, are you. Well, Adrien-you, and Chat-you."

He stepped back, gaping at her with wide eyes. "Wait, you had feelings for me and... me?" She only nodded in response and he grinned again, sweeping her into another enthusiastic hug, and then abruptly stopping again. "Which feelings came first?" 

"Cha- I mean, Adrien! Agh!" She groaned, roughly rubbing her face with her hands, which only made him laugh. Hearing his amusement, she pulled her hands away and tried to glare at him but failed, pouting instead. "It's not funny!" 

"I'm sorry! You're just cute when you're frustrated, Purrrrrincess," he said with an overdramatic flair, shooting her a grin. She was red in the face, and fighting to find words like she often did around his civilian self, and that made much more sense now. "You must find me pretty irresistible then, since you fell for me twice, how cute." 

She shot another glare at him, though this one quickly became a smirk that terrified him. She chuckled slightly under her breath, and leaned up onto to her toes again. He froze as she got closer and closer to his face and watched her eagerly, trying not to be disappointed when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. He thought she would back down after that, but instead she leaned forward more, stopping when her mouth was so close to his ear that he could feel her breath. "You fell for me twice, too, Chaton." 

His eyes widened and he started to respond, but before he could even get a syllable out, she had moved again and instead pressed her lips to his. Every single thought evaporated from his mind and the whole world became the vanilla and sweetness that he could taste on Marinette's - Ladybug's? - lips. He tilted his head to return the kiss, holding her in his arms like the treasure that she was. She felt so much like home to him, and he finally understood why trusting her had been as easy as breathing. Even physically, she fit perfectly in his arms, and her lips felt like they were molded to be kissed by him. 

When they finally broke apart, she looked up at him and he met her eyes. Part of him felt ridiculous for thinking there could ever be two people with eyes as positively magical as hers. 

"I love you," she said softly, her endlessly blue eyes filled to the brim with the sentiment to match her words. 

"And I love you, m'Lady."


End file.
